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News 2-4Features 5Arts & Entertainment 6-7Sports 8-9Campus Comment 10Local Events 11Photo Essay 12

Gallery 51 exhibits video art

Volleyball stands at 2-0 in the MASCAC

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Volume 81 ◆ Issue 3

Beacon@MCLA.Edu413-662-5535

Mark Hopkins Room 111

By Idalis FosterSenior News Editor

Six clubs were approved last semester by SGA, but their approval only goes so far. Sociology Society and African Student Association had to prove themselves last semester as being their own separate entities from other clubs, and now they have to prove themselves able to function without a budget.

With the new activation of a club, a budget is not issued by SGA in order to give the club a chance to demonstrate its need for � nancial assistance, as well as its survival rate on campus.

Sociology Society, a club for students looking to discuss sociology as it relates to every part of life, has looked into bringing club members to conferences for sociologists and inviting guest speakers to campus to present on their � ndings. However, since they are only receiving funds from the Sociology Department right now, they are unable to do as much as they’d hoped.

“It’s been di� cult because we want to promote our club, but it’s hard,” Paul Gro� , president of Sociology Society, said. “� e department is very supportive of the club but they haven’t given us a set amount because they have

other expenses.” Gro� mentioned that he and the

club’s vice president, senior Jenna O’Connor, have put up their own money to get food and snacks for the ice cream social and meetings. � ey hope to get a big enough budget next year to be able to send members to conferences like the Eastern Sociological Society’s Annual Conference. � ey have both gone to these events on their own in the past and bene� tted from them greatly.

“You get such great feedback from people who have pursued a degree and get to go to workshops,” O’Connor said. “It’s just overwhelmingly awesome.”

Despite the lack of budget, the club has big plans for this year, including inviting guest speakers through the departments of social work, anthropology, and sociology. � ey also hope to hold a Columbus Day discussion in conjunction with other clubs and host a Horror Movie Event on Halloween to analyze the sociological concepts behind horror movies.

� e African Student Organization has had to get along without a budget for a couple of years now, as they have had their African Night event two years in

New clubs struggle for approval from SGA

Holbrook wishes to enhance student experience and embrace campus size

By Harmony BirchManaging Editor

Catherine Holbrook, vice president of student a� airs, wants to work in a small community with a focus on the Liberal Arts.

She believes her job is to enhance the students’ experience and � gure out what is important to them. Since taking up her post in July, Holbrook has been busy immersing herself in the MCLA community.

Holbrook has worked 23 years in Massachusetts Public Higher Education as the former associate vice president of student a� airs at Bridgewater State University. Since coming to MCLA, she has been trying to � gure out the speci� c circumstances of its student community.

“Each institution has its own culture,” Holbrook said.

She meets regularly with SGA President Alexandra Kadell and Student Trustee Nicholas Hernigle. Every week, she shares a meal where randomly chosen students are invited.

“No one has come in saying ‘I’m really concerned about this or that,’” Holbrook said. “Everyone’s been highly positive about their experiences.”

What’s special about MCLA,

according to Holbrook, is it’s a warm and welcoming community.

“I felt it the � rst day I drove on campus, parked, and got out of the car,” she said.

Director of Student Accounts, Jennifer Macksey, greeted Holbrook right away as Cathy, rather than “Ms. Holbrook.”

“It’s nice and personal,” Holbrook said. “People care and that’s important.”

Her pet peeves are rudeness and lack of kindness.

“It’s very easy to be kind to people, in my experience,” she said. A particular example of MCLA’s kindness could be seen in the student, sta� , and faculty responses to the Berkshire Tower (BT) evacuations last weekend.

“� ere’s no way you can look at what happened in the Berkshire Tower Evacuations and not have a positive memory,” Holbrook said.

� ough she has only been here a short period of time, Holbrook has noticed spots the College needs improving upon. During the BT evacuation she acknowledged that communication could have been stressful for students and families.

“Families expected information,” Holbrook said.

She added that new information was not being conveyed to

students and family consistently throughout the evacuation, partly because there was no new information to include.

“A lot of energy and resources have gone into bee� ng up communication,” she said. “� at’s one aspect of safety.”

Among the projects, she said the “Information Technology (IT) folks” are working on improving the Internet infrastructure and technology to get better cellphone signals and updated web pages, along with the Rave system for emergency situations and further training for the College’s emergency task force.

Holbrook is on the board for the emergency task forces. � eir job is to determine response protocols for hypothetical emergency situations. While Holbrook said there was no plan that had predicted the BT incident, the task force and sta� drew from other response plans, like what to do in the case of a chemical spill.

One of the improvements Holbrook is working on is increased lighting on campus. On Wednesday, she will be attending a campus safety walk along with Charles Kimberling, director of Facilities, and a group of students chosen by Kadell, to determine where more lighting is needed.

NEW CLUBScontinued on page 3

Photo by Tiearra Henson/The BeaconSenior Angelica Per� do goes up for a spike against Baypath University last weekend.

INTERIM OPEN DISCUSSIONcontinued on page 3

Clemmer’s agenda: Increase retention and enrollment rates

By Makayla-Courtney McGeeney

Co-Editor-in-Chief

During a change in leadership, one might say an organization could fall apart, but Interim President James Clemmer came forth with his six-week report declaring, “� ings work very well here.”

“I’m here to lead and push the tide,” Clemmer said, acknowledging the current state of the College at an open discussion for the faculty and sta� on Tuesday. “We do know what’s going on during this time of leadership.”

“How can we use the resources we have and prioritize?” he said. “We can’t keep waiting for the day to get resources. We have to � nd a way to do what we want with existing resources, and maybe that means saying no to certain things.”

Two of Clemmer’s priorities

are increasing enrollment and retention rates. Admissions is addressing them by researching why accepted students choose to go elsewhere. Students do so because they consider the College’s quality of programs, the conditions of buildings, and the ability to get a job post-graduation, Denise Richardello, executive vice president said.

Less than 40 percent of students will graduate in four years at the College. Seventy-seven percent of May 2015 graduates � nished within four years, (up 2 percent from the previous year) however, that includes transfers and non-traditional students.

For fall 2014, the retention rate was at what Clemmer considered too low, 75 percent. In � ve years the College should be at 82 percent, he added.

“� ere are larger drops every year and students usually drop within their third or fourth

Volleyball beat Anna Maria College on Tuesday for their 12th straight win. Read page 8 for the story.

Thursday, October 1, 2015 Campus News Beacon.MCLA.edu2Police Logs

Week of 9/20-9/26

Public Safety responded to 155

total calls

Sunday, September 20 ◆ 1:57 p.m. – Public Safety found property near Berk-shire Towers. A report was completed. Lost and found is located in the Campus Police office at 277 Ashland Street.

Monday, September 21 ◆ 2:12 p.m. – Public Safety responded to a larceny/forg-ery/fraud incident. Services were provided and a report was completed.

Tuesday, September 22◆ 10:55 p.m. – Public Safety responded to a call regarding suspicious activity. The indi-vidual was given a warning.

Wednesday, September 23◆ 8:08 p.m. – Public Safety responded to a call regarding an individual being harassed. A harassment report was completed.

◆ 10:36 p.m. – Public Safety responded to a medical call in Venable Hall. The indi-vidual was transported to the hospital.

Thursday, September 24◆ 8:53 p.m. – Public Safety responded to a call regard-ing a possible drug offense in Venable Hall. The building was checked and no further report was needed.

◆ 10:16 p.m. – Public safety responded to a call regard-ing malicious destruction of college property. A report was completed totaling the damages under $250.

Friday, September 25◆ 3:00 p.m. – Public Safety responded to a safety hazard call in the Amsler Campus Center. The offi cer removed the hazard from the prem-ises.

Saturday, September 26◆ 12:33 a.m. – Public Safety responded to a disturbance call near the Flagg Town-houses. The call was inves-tigated and no further report

was needed.

Thursday, October 1

Friday, October 2

Saturday, October 3

Sunday, October 4

Mostly CloudyHigh: 59°Low: 44°

Precip. Chance: 20%

Mostly CloudyHigh: 54°Low: 44°

Precip. Chance: 20%

Partial RainHigh: 62°Low: 47°

Precip. Chance: 50%

Steady RainHigh: 60°Low: 50°

Precip. Chance:90%

Weekend Weather

SGA nal elections are on Oct. 7 and Oct. 8 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

� e voting table is located in the Market Place of the Amsler Campus Center.

Vote in upcoming SGA electionsVote for the next:

Senate at Large (2)Greek Seat

Commuter SeatResident Seat

Class of 2016 - 2 Representatives Class of 2017 - 1 Representative Class of 2019 - 2 Representatives

2017 Class Counil – Treasurer2018 Class Council – Treasurer 2019 Class Council – President/

Vice President/Secretary/Treasurer

Corrections:• In issue 1, the SGA

article stated that Gale Candaras would attend the MASSPIRG kick-off meeting. It should have read Gailanne Cariddi.

• In issue 2, the MASSPIRG article about Subway using antibiotics read a quote from Mitchell Chapman that read “70% of animals are given antibiotics.” It should have read“70% of antibiotics in the US are given to livestock to fatten them up.” Another quote stated “...died from consuming animals that have been fed antibiotics.” It should have read “Twenty-three thousand people have died from antibiotics resistant infections last year. Many of these cases can be connected to overuse on farms.” Lastly, the sidebar incorrectly stated “twenty-three hundred,” and should have stated “twenty-three thousand.”

• In issue 2, the financial aid announcement was incorrectly worded. It should have read: First time borrowers must complete the online entrance counseling and the master promissory note (MPN) at www.studentloans.gov. Check with the financial aid office in Eldridge Hall to make sure your requirements are complete. Free scholarship search fastweb.com

Architecture � rm hired to change townhouses

By Harmony BirchManaging Editor

Diane Manning, director of residential programs and services, announced that MCLA has hired a architectural rm to help redesign the townhouses.

� e redesign is intended to work with the original townhouse footprint. One of the ideas being considered is to create connected residents halls and to increase security, according to Manning. � e opportunity could provide students with more singles. � e addition would include a central building that connects B Block to C Block, which would have a required security check point like the other residents areas.

“� at’s not necessarily a bad thing If students were good at being in charge of their own security,” Manning said.

Manning noted that the project would require a lot of funds, and would likely not be started during current u n d e r g r a d u a t e careers.

Over the summer, RPS renovated the student lounges in Berkshire Towers, which involved the installation of re sprinklers

and additonal new furniture. In Hoosac Hall heating is now regulated by individual � oors, rather than the entire building. In the townhouses a number of renovations were made, including the replacement of toilets in twelve apartments and repainting steps.

Press Gallery club spaceSGA is looking into leasing

out the previous storefront that housed Press Gallery to operate as a space for clubs on campus.

“A lot of clubs on campus have been complaining that they don’t have a space to perform,” SGA president Alexandra Kadell said. “It’s a great opportunity to get clubs out in to the community.”

� e space would be monitored by interns and booked like any other campus space.

Senator’s at large Tim Williams and Mackenzie McCarthy expressed concern about how the space would be monitored by Public Safety o cers and it’s convenience to students. Clubs

would be able to rent vans or carpool. According to Kadell, the space would be on Public Safety’s route.

“We own it [the space]. If we lose it, we lose it to the community,” Kadell said. She emphasized that it was the most a ordable option for space that they have looked at, and since the money is coming out of SGA’s operating budget, it would not impact club budgets.

Alumni ConnectionsSGA president Kadell and

coordinating vice president Kelsey McGonigle attended an alumni board meeting last weekend.

“� ey need more young alum particpatation,” Kadell said. � e alumni board plans to target undergraduates early, as soon as they are freshmen. One of the ways they successfully engaged with undergraduates in the past is by selling graduation chords. � ey will continue to sell chords this year.

Photo from the Beacon archiveThe Flagg Townhouses were � rst constructed in the 1970s.

Thursday, October 1, 2015 Campus News 3Beacon.MCLA.edu

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NEW CLUBScontinued from page 1

Castro: take time to mentor students

By Joseph CarewSta� Writer

� e importance of mentorship, undergraduate research, and encouraging students were among the topics discussed by Dr. Ingrid Castro in her Brown Bag Lecture on Friday in Bowman Hall, where she emphasized the importance of graduate work and the bene ts to be had from it.

To an audience of faculty and students, Castro opened with her beginnings in higher academia at a large university and focused on her lack of mentorship at the undergraduate level.

While in grad school, Castro found her rst experience being mentored by someone in her discipline of sociology. A fellowship around the same time brought about more experience working with professors and

experts in her eld. Castro expressed her love of

teaching but said that mentoring is, in some ways “even better for me.”

Speaking to the professors in the room, Castro mentioned how di� cult it is to take the time to mentor students. “It’s actually not easy for us to do that,” Castro said. “[But] if we make time, it really does pay o� in the end for both of us.”

Ingrid Castro Ph. D., studied at the University of Delaware and Northeastern University, earning both her master’s degree and doctorate at the latter.

� e Brown Bag Lecture series takes place on Fridays at 3 pm in Bowman 121 and will continue on October 16th with Dr. Anthony Gengarelly continuing his lecture known as Southwest Journey.

Cheer and Film club reactivatedBy Idalis Foster

Senior News Editor

Cheerleading Squad and Film Club both existed before on campus, but not the way they do this year. Cheerleading Squad was formerly known as Cheer Club, which became inactive a couple of years ago until senior Kenya Joseph reactivated the club last semester.

“Last year, we talked over the idea of re-opening the club because we just felt like MCLA was lacking a little bit of school spirit at games and other functions,” junior Sasha Bain, vice president of Cheerleading Squad, said. “We just believed that cheer club would be the perfect [opportunity] to bring that liveliness back into MCLA.”

� e club held its informational meeting last semester, during which all the rules and requirements were explained, including mandatory study halls and a high emphasis on attendance at practices.

As with any reactivation of a

club, it is technically considered new by the Student Government Association (SGA), meaning they do not receive a budget for the rst year they are reactivated. However, Bain said they plan on raising funds for the club regardless, to a� ord the equipment and uniforms they need.

“We are currently planning for a car wash fundraiser within the next two or three weekends,” Bain said. “We are hoping that this will give us the kick start we need to get this club o� the ground and running smoothly.”

Film Club, on the other hand, is not as worried about their nances in terms of the budget rule regarding new clubs. According to club president, sophomore Mitchell Chapman, they don’t currently need a budget, although it would aid their growth next year.

“In the future we could help people pay for the movies, and there is a lm festival in Williamstown we would like to go to,” Chapman said.

He mentioned that the current Film Club is considerably di� erent from the former one in that it used to be a lm production club. Its current purpose is to get students to discuss a lm they have all seen that week. Chapman worked on this idea last year, a di� cult process because he did not have much assistance at the time.

“Right now they’re good about giving constitutions and the steps for it, but with me they didn’t really do that,” Chapman said. “But second semester they gave me an intern to help through the process.”

Chapman is optimistic for the club based on interest shown by students last semester, including 20 members for just their rst meeting, and the “core of very good e-board members this year.” � e club is looking forward to the possibilities of collaborations and their treasurer has already reached out to the Women’s Center to co-sponsor a lm series.

Film club reestablished a� er one year without a budget

Freel’s services extended to community

By Torin GannonSta� Writer

Even those who enter the Freel Library on a daily basis realize that it’s not just for the bene t of students.

� e basement of the library is currently home to the Northern Berkshire Adult Education Program. � e program o� ers free secondary education courses for residents of Berkshire County. � ese courses are primarily intended for people who have either dropped out of school or have been away from it for some time.

“We have students that range in age from 16 to 60,” Program Advisor Bob Bouquet said.

Bouquet’s duties are similar to that of a student advisor. He also coordinates the technology program, the distance learning program, and he teaches a college and career readiness course.

“I have multiple hats within the program, that keep me very involved,” Bouquet said.

Bouquet has been a member of the MCLA family for quite some time, having worked with the program for 18 years, and before that working in the Center for Student Success and Engagement. (CSSE).

� e program receives its funding from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and is designed to provide HiSET preparation. � e HiSET is the current high school equivalency credential, once commonly known as the General

Education Diploma, or the GED. “It’s a way for the student who

le high school for any number of reasons to continue their education in an environment that isn’t the traditional classroom setting,” Bouquet said. “For a lot of individuals that come through our program, the traditional school environment just didn’t work, so this is a way for them to work on their skills in a semi-structured way.”

� e program is also catering to those who as adults are thinking of changing careers, or perhaps going to college for the rst time and need some preparation.

� e Program also recently received a grant from the city of North Adams to o� er career training programs and

employment opportunities for North Adams residents who meet certain quali cations.

On why he enjoys working for this program, Bouquet said it is great, “working with students who maybe didn’t think they could go to college or understand math, and it’s hearing the students when they get that math problem they’ve struggled with for a week. [It’s when] they understand how to do that, and seeing the little steps they take and the small successes they make toward achieving their goals.”

� e program has been a� liated with the school for about 25-30 years, by Bouquet’s estimation. It provides services to about 100-110 students annually.

Photo from Panoramio.com/Kevin BeanFreel Library’s basement is home to several programs ben� tting students and community members.

Learning programs run out of Freel’s basement reaches more than just students on campus

a row under the Black Student Union. It was with the rst African Night that the president of the club, junior Bridget Forson, recognized the need for students of African background to have a separate club in order to share their culture with the campus.

“A er the rst Africa Night, alumna Marie Anojo and I talked about how we didn’t have a club that represented the African part of the student body,” Forson said. “We only talked about black people in America, but we wanted to focus on African culture not being the typical stereotype people see on television.”

According to Forson, the club is hoping to have a potluck in

October as their rst o� cial club event, but their main focus is making African Night just as successful as in the past. She emphasized that the club knows its resources well and has been able to succeed without a budget through the help of other clubs and departments.

“We’re trying our best to show them we are a club that won’t be going away any time soon,” Forson said. “We’ve spoken to people who are interested in becoming an e-board member; I want to make sure the club stays strong a er I leave.”

Both African Student Alliance and Sociology Society meet � ursdays at 8pm, ASA in Campus Center Room 324A and SS in Bowman Hall Room 103.

CLEMMER AGENDAcontinued from page 1

semester,” Monica Joslin, dean of academic a� airs said. “Each student is engaged on campus at a di� erent level.”

Clemmer said that athletes have a higher retention rate possibly due to their level of engagement. � is also goes for clubs, study abroad and Center for Service opportunities.

“� e times are changing and people don’t want to live far away from their parents anymore,” Richardello said. “Fi y percent stay within 25 miles of home. If we go out [recruit] 100 miles, the population isn’t there.

Richardello added that simple

things can be done to campus to be more marketable to prospective students. Flowers can be planted along with applying fresh coats of paint. � e new web page design, (featuring stories of graduates, undergraduates and sta� accomplishments) helps as well.

“We have to move the pot around to fund things properly. Use our resources instead of stretching too far to apply too many Band-Aids,” Clemmer said. “� ere will be decisiveness and creative upbringing. We need to sell our message by the people who leave here; let students speak for themselves.”

Thursday, October 1, 2015 Campus News Beacon.MCLA.edu4

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Senior uses snowboarding as spring semester stress-relief

By Nick TardiveFeatures Writer

Everybody needs a method of escape. Whether it be knitting, painting, or in this case, snowboarding, people need a means of clearing their mind of the daily stresses of life.

Physics major Cody Gawle ‘16 knows quite a bit about stress. So he takes to the slopes and lets his mind � oat like his body does when gracefully gliding in the air from a ramp built into the

mountainside.“You escape reality,” Gawle

says, gazing o toward the Campus Center from his position on the bench right outside the Freel Library. “� e only thing that matters is you, the board, and the view.”

“I wonder what would maximize how much I spin [when taking a jump],” Gawle suggests, reaching for his answer like he would reach for his board if performing a grab trick.

Physics majors have quite

a bit to think about. It is only reasonable for somebody such as Gawle, a senior hoping to graduate by the end of the Spring ’16 semester, to look for a way to forget about the intricacies of his major and all the implications of it.

Gawle has been snowboarding since he was fourteen. Around eight years of his life have been dedicated to this very unique art, which helps de� ne who he is as a person. Not only has it aided in his escape from the reality of physics, but it has helped create and supplement friendships as well.

Friends since freshman year, Gawle and Ian Angell have spent countless hours together, between intense library crusades and laid back adventures on the slopes.

Angell credits Gawle with kick-starting his tapered-out a ection for snowboarding. He also admits that Gawle is his superior in the sport.

“He’s nasty,” Angell says with a chuckle, sitting on the same bench Gawle had just vacated, “He’s one of the most motivated people I know. He’s constantly pushing himself to do better, to keep learning.”

Gawle swi ly moves from his seat on the bench, almost daydreaming about his sport of choice, to return to his physics books and homework with the same motivation that drives him when snowboarding.

“He’ll spend seven hours just binging in the library, studying,” Angell remarks, as if stunned by the dedication it takes to do so,

“Sometimes it feels like we don’t see him for days at a time.”

Physics is, by no stretch of the imagination, a di cult subject to grasp. Despite Gawle’s initial inability to think of much connecting his major to his time on the slopes, he does admit that occasionally connecting the sport to certain concepts being

introduced in physics class can help him grasp the material.

“It’s the concepts that are intertwined, not so much the equations or any of that,” Gawle says, still looking o at the Campus Center, as if envisioning it to be a trail he could be boarding down.

Photo by Liz Quirk/The BeaconSenior Cody Gawle re� ects on ways snowboarding reduces his stress levels during the semester.

Photo from FacebookSenior Cody Gawle performs a snowboard trick on a railing in the winter.

New presidential search � rm meets with students

By Nick SwansonCo-Editor-in-Chief

Students expressed their desire to appoint a new college president who is community oriented, personally enthused by the campus, and stresses the importance of safety.

When Korn-Ferry (KF) search � rm sent Senior Client Partner David Mead-Fox to speak with students last � ursday in Murdock Hall, he asked what issues they are hoping to see the new MCLA president address.

“Safety on campus has been really important lately because of attacks around and on campus.” Senior Alexandra Kadell said. “It would be nice having a president willing to say you’re safe in this community even though this (attack) happened. � is (action) will be done to ensure your safety even though it might be a unique situation.”

Mead-Fox said the new president might have a form of

action towards safety in their current position, but that plan might not be best for MCLA. � e candidate might be a good role model or president elsewhere, but that doesn’t exactly mean they will be a good MCLA president, he continued.

“I think it would be really great for the president to have new ideas for the bene� t of the community, as in, how the city (North Adams) can make MCLA better and how MCLA can make the city better,” Sophomore Casey-Martha Messina said.

“I want them to want to be here because it’s important to have the new president live near campus and in this community,” Mead-Fox said. It has always been a negative indication when a candidate is visiting campus and they say ‘I suppose I could see myself living here,’ he added.

Junior Colby Harvish said it would be essential for the next president to treat us all equally and speak to us in a person to

person manor instead of student to (MCLA) president.

Similar to the � rst search for the twel h MCLA president, all potential � nal candidates will visit and speak with the college community. Kadell asked if candidates will research MCLA and be prepared to answer speci� c questions regarding the college when they visit campus.

Mead-Fox said it’s ultimately the candidate’s choice whether or not to research in order to learn more about the college, but if they are aware of speci� c situations that are happening, then they will have that knowledge to comment on.

He said some qualities being sought in potential candidates are someone who is well-statured or a scholarly � gure, a person who connects well with groups and clubs on campus, has high credibility from working closely with faculty, and has much experience in higher education.

“We will create a list of about 100 prospective candidates, but that

number will be quickly reduced down to about 12 more serious candidates,” he added.

He said one goal of the search � rm is to � nd a candidate who will help students become an adult learner. If this is possible, then more individuals will be well-prepared to go into the real world.

Mead-Fox said the next college president is predicted to start the presidential role in the spring due to the reality that many people in higher education cannot leave their current job in the middle of an academic year because of prior responsibilities.

He said another meeting will be held mid-October with the search committee to collect more information. However, initial preparations for the search began last summer. � e candidates will most likely be a department Chairmen or Provost, according to Mead-Fox.

� e College hired Korn-Ferry to locate a fresh set of cadidates to potentially lead the institution

Thursday, October 1, 2015 Features Beacon.MCLA.edu 5

By Gionna NourseFeatures Editor

It was only the second week of classes at MCLA. Freshman students were getting used to “college life,” settling in and unpacking their last few belongings. It was a typical early September night at MCLA.

On Sept. 19 around 5 p.m. a strange smell was reported from students on the fifth floor of Tower A. Soon after, all of the residents in the towers were told to go to the main lobby and were then evacuated for what many assumed was a fire drill.

Residents quickly learned re-entry to their rooms was not allowed until further notice, at which point the college offered alternative locations for those who didn’t know someone willing to accommodate them.

Finding somewhere to stay on the first night was a main concern for students. “I went to Williams Inn with my friends the first night, and then I went home the second night,” Tower A resident Nikki Tanzi said.

“I was in Venable gym for the first night after I was brought back from the hospital, and then I stayed in Hoosac Hall for two nights,” Ericka Delisle ‘19 said.

The evacuation lasted a total of three nights for Tower A students and two nights for those living in Tower B. Some stayed at the gym for the first night, and found other places to stay for subsequent nights, while others stayed at hotels, townhouses, or with friends on or off campus. Twenty-seven students were sent to the hospital due to physical symptoms such as throat irritation, but they were all evaluated and came back to campus the same night.

Personal hygiene issues and no access to their belongings proved to be extremely disruptive for many. Students were without items such as toothbrushes, floss, towels, deodorant, and their own clothes for a least one night.

“The first day I bathed in the river,” Sam Resendes ’19 said. “I didn’t shower for like a day and a half,” Tanzi said.

Other students were luckier, and were able to shower at a

friend’s townhouse, or in Hoosac Hall. “I was lucky enough to stay with my friends in a townhouse, they let me shower there and offered me food,” Paige Brosofsky ‘17 said.

“For showers, I had access to the townhouse shower on the second night,” Tower B resident McKenzie Robinson said.Resident Advisors (RA’s) and others made multiple trips to the local Wal-Mart to accommodate students with clothing and toiletries. “For clothes, we went shopping to get clean underwear, shirts, and sweats,” she continued.

Some students had no choice but to buy things on their own, or rely on friends and family to help them. “I had to go to Wal-Mart and spent $200 there because I didn’t know if I was going to have a place to stay or not,” Tanzi said.

“The first day back, I had to purchase clothing at Wal-

Mart,” Nolan DeLeone ’19 shared. Others asked their family for help because they

didn’t have any money on them at the time. “I took what I could get from what they offered. I bought myself personal hygiene items and a charger,” Andrea Martin ‘16 said.

The evacuation was also a major disruption to the flow of classes, affecting curriculum for professors and homework assignments for students, especially for those who didn’t normally keep up with their classes.

“I am always someone that has trouble staying on top of things, so getting knocked back 4 days of homework didn’t help,” Delisle said. “I need to stay on top of things as they come for me to be able to do them at all, so it’s been really hard for me.”

Some students were so unprepared that they felt there was no point in going to classes, while others attended their classes feeling completely lost.

“I rolled into class Monday without a pen, paper, or shoes. They should have cancelled classes, it was just too much,” Delisle said. “I started to fall behind in class for a few days because I did not have any of my notes and couldn’t review anything that we had [previously] talked about in class.”

“I was lost all day Monday in classes,” Robinson said. Robinson’s friend even lost their job due to unpreparedness, which led to her calling out for two days. “One of my suitemates couldn’t get

anything she needed for her job. She had to call out twice which affected her because her boss ended up firing her and it wasn’t her fault.”

Generally speaking, most students were pleased with how the school handled the situation, with some minor complaints and at least one major complaint. “[The College] was giving away all sorts of free stuff, they made the best of a bad situation,” Resendes said.

While the College did everything it could to help students during such a chaotic time, there were a few that felt more could have been done.

“I just wish there was better communication about what was going on,” Delisle said. “I felt like we were kept in the dark, and the school was telling us to check our email, but people didn’t have phones or phone chargers.”

“It wasn’t a preventable event, but it could have been handled better,” DeLeone said.

BT evacuation brings hardships to studentsStudents share thoughts on the BT evacuation, which left over 250 students displaced for nearly three days

I rolled into class Monday without a pen, paper, or shoes. They should have cancelled classes, it was just too much.

Ericka Delisle’19

Photo by Mitchell Chapman/The BeaconBerkshire Towers residents were evacuated to Venable Gym and fed Pizza from Pizza Works as emergency personnel examined the towers.

By Gionna NourseFeatures Editor

Located at 57 Main Street in North Adams, Oh Crepe! is connected to a 15 thousand square foot antique store, which “adds a whole other level of coolness,” according to co-owner Ben Lamb, an ’07 MCLA graduate in business.

Complete with almost exclusively up-cycled décor, Oh Crepe brings what Lamb affectionately calls a “hipster chic DIY” vibe to those who enter. Some of the up-cycled material includes roofing slates for menus, old pallet wood for the front of the service bar, locally harvested trees for the counters and tables and mason jars for the lights

“The day doors opened we wanted it to feel like we had been there forever, so including all of these upcycled elements contributed to bringing the history and warmth of North Adams into our shop,” he said.

Lamb’s inspiration for the café stems from a visit he and co-owner Emily Schiavoni, who earned her master’s from MCLA in 2013, made to “an awesome little crepe shop” in Martha’s Vineyard.

“We fell in love with the decor and feel and thought it would be an amazing fit in a small blossoming arts environment like we have here in North Adams,” he said. “When I was a student, I would have LOVED something like this to have been in town. We want to be a place where students can come and do work as well as engage with downtown more.”

Lamb and Schiavoni would also love to partner with students that want to hold events and such at a downtown location.

Oh Crepe!’s mission is to bring “new, fun, delicious locally

sourced food options to the downtown area that people can eat in or take with them to see the beauty of the Berkshires.”

“For me personally, offering local food to locals is key,” Lamb said. “We see this as a big social investment in downtown. This is and can be a community that we can live, work and play in, and Oh Crepe! aims to make that as obvious as possible to locals and visitors alike.”

Offerings include a variety of sweet and savory crepes, as well as artisan coffee, tea and baked goods. Oh Crepe! is passionate about serving locally sourced, fresh ingredients at a relatively affordable price.

“A crepe and a coffee or bottled drink would run about $11 after tax, and you will walk away full and caffeinated,” Lamb said. They are also looking at offering smaller plates in the near future that may be a good fit for the typical college student’s budget.

“Crepes are great!” Lamb said. “They are delicious and they can be filled with basically anything. They’re a fun, walking friendly food that people can take and go with, and they offer limitless numbers of puns for our social media,” he added.

While their menu is mostly consistent, it certainly changes with the season due to availability of local ingredients. One unique feature they offer is their “Crepe of the Month Competition,” which is run on Facebook. “Folks can pitch ideas, we pick the top three, and Facebook votes to select the winner. Some of our best sellers have been from the Crepe of the Month competition!” Lamb said.

With their grand opening on April 30, the café has done quite a bit of business over the summer. “[Business was] good, about what we expected,” Lamb said. “It is super unpredictable, but it’s fun because we are able to try new things, see what works, meet lots of awesome people, and get our feet wet. We are always looking for feedback and potential customers, so if there is something you would like to see, tell us!”

For more information on Oh Crepe!, please visit: www.ohcrepecafe.com or facebook.com/OhCrepeCafe

Oh Crepe! offers local food, study space

Photo by Isabel McKenzie/The BeaconPatrons observe the unique location of Oh Crepe! in downtown North Adams.

This story was compiled by Gionna Nourse and students from the Writing and Reporting the News II class.

Thursday, October 1, 2015 Arts & Entertainment Beacon.MCLA.edu6

60th Annual Fall Foliage Parade brings people together By Mitchell Chapman

A&E Editor

The Mohawk Trail turns 101 years old in conjunction with the 60th Annual Fall Foliage Parade and, as usual, MCLA students are taking action. They have the chance to earn community service hours by participating in events leading up to the parade. “I would like to emphasize [how] MCLA participates in the spirit of community building,” Spencer Moser, coordinator for the Center for Service and C i t i z e n s h i p , said. “We are an important institution in this region, and part of that is engaging in community events.” Moser added that on average, students who participate in the parade will earn 4-5 hours of community service. “This is a great opportunity to represent the college,” Moser said. “Students will have a great understanding of the city, its values, and what makes it what it is.”Some of these opportunities include serving on committees and participating in festival events such as the Fall Foliage Dance, the Craft Fair, and the fifth annual Dog Parade. Students can also get involved through the cheerleading club and the men’s basketball team, as well as other units who are looking for

banner carriers. The official marching unit is being facilitated by the Center for Service and Citizenship. Last year, 68 groups joined the parade, which was a vast improvement from the 46 that participated in 2013. This year, 11 new groups signed up, bringing in a grand total of 79 unique organizations participating in the event. A typical Fall Foliage Parade has over a thousand participants scattered across the town, either standing or relaxing in fold-up chairs, enjoying the parade from the side of the road. “This is

the largest event of the year,” Danielle Thomas, coordinator of events and programs for Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, said. “This is a great way for the community to get together. MCLA students are more than welcome to march in the parade, though we have other great ways to get involved,

too.” The Sunday event will follow its traditional route: starting near Ocean State Job Lot’s North Adams location and ending on Ashland St, starting “promptly” at 1p.m. For more information, contact Christopher Hantman on Office 365. Students interested in participating in the MCLA unit should contact Spencer Moser, who coordinates the parade. Those interested in holding parade banners or getting involved in events as part of the Fall Foliage should contact Danielle Thomas at dthomas@1berkshire.com or

at 413-449-4000 extension 126. Scheduled for tomorrow,

October 2, is the annual children’s parade, followed by the Fall Foliage Craft Fair and fifth annual Dog parade, in which owners dress up their dogs and receive

prizes in different categories. Closing out the festival is the

actual parade, which starts at 1 p.m., though those who choose to participate through the

Center for Service will meet at 9 a.m. in Sullivan Lounge. For more information, visit www.fallfoliageparade.com.

By Mitchell ChapmanA&E Editor

Video art is hardly a new concept, but one that has in no way been perfected. Many would argue that all videos, in some way, are art, though few have been created for the sole purpose of making art. Gallery 51 offered an

interesting stab at this notion with a special one-night-only event in conjunction with the final day of DownStreet Art and its current exhibition “eat me alive so that I may see you from the inside.” “This was a sort of behind-

the-scenes look as to what went on behind the art,” Torsten Zenas Burns, one of the minds behind the gallery’s “eat me alive” exhibition, and host of the event, said. The form of this look came

in an 82 minute looped program that inspired “eat me alive.” It consisted of video footage, songs, images, and internet research, according to Burns. It was profound that the

“research” footage communicated the spirit of the exhibition on its own. In a way, Burns and his counterparts created a short film which, while it has no

comprehensive n a r r a t i v e , c o n v e y e d emotions. In the age

of the Internet, splicing videos for meaning has become a common p r a c t i c e . S e v e r a l m e d i u m s , including those i n f o r m a l l y known as the “ Y o u T u b e Poop” (YTP), have relied on video splicing and editing solely as a way to make meaning, many of which were never intended by the original content creators. Burns and company, by creating this film, have done just that, though without modifying the original meanings of the clips. It is by making them a part of a collective that they have communicated the spirit of what “eat me alive” was all about. It is very rare to get a peek

as pure as this into an artist’s creative process, and the special

exhibition did that, displaying clips drenched in subconscious value. They ranged from anything as mundane as a documentary clip of an octopus struggling with a coconut, to (very skillfully) edited “image chunks” that can be described as references and pieces of art themselves. One could argue that this

“research media curation” exhibit itself was art (it communicated on an emotional level independent films often do). It could even be

considered “high” art, which would put it on the same level as the pieces sitting in the gallery that it inspired, though less refined. They both certainly displayed similarities; like the “eat me alive” exhibits, the video displayed vibrant colors and abstract pictures cobbled together from familiar images, though it is worthy to note that the video

lacked in intestinal imagery. Art can inspire

art. There’s no denying that, and as technology progresses, it will be interesting to see more pieces such as this that capture the thought process of artists, for those inspirational pieces themselves are art. In a day filled with closing receptions, it was nice to have something that got you thinking about the process of making art and where it comes from.

Gallery 51: A peek behind the artTorsten Zenas Burns holds special exhibition

Photo from the Center for ServiceEnthusiastic MCLA students represent the college in last year’s parade. Many groups are looking for banner-holders this year.

Photo by Mitchell Chapman/ The BeaconThe Gallery showed an 82 minute short film entirely composed of the artist’s inspirations.

‘The Visit’ Underwhelms

By Chris RiemerA&E Writer

M. Night Shyamalan has a reputation for making a certain kind of film. His model is probably best described as cheap un-canniness: the sort of movie that piles on jump-scares and sudden loud noises, and has a twist ending you can spot from a mile off. I had never seen one of his films before last Tuesday, but despite fairly positive reviews, I’ll admit that I expected a forgettable horror flick. Would The Visit surprise me with a fresh take on the genre, or would Shyamalan continue to rely on the lame tropes that earned him his reputation? I’ll spoil this review’s ending: it was a bit of both. The protagonists are two children, Becca and Tyler, who, against their mother’s wishes, go on a trip to visit their estranged grandparents. The grandparents seem normal at first, but over the course of their stay they exhibit increasingly odd and dangerous behavior. Becca, a precocious preteen, uses the opportunity to film a documentary about her grandparents’ relationship with her mother. The film is presented

‘Signs’ director has another “shocking” twist

Thursday, October 1, 2015 Arts & Entertainment Beacon.MCLA.edu 7

60th Annual Fall Foliage Parade brings people together

By Jarred ClappA&E Writer

MCLA’s Fine and Performing Arts Theatre department (FPA) will be putting on a presentation of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” this November. The titular characters will be played by senior FPA Theatre majors Crysta Cheverie and Marcus Neverson. “Romeo and Juliet,” while no doubt a classic, often receives criticism for sticking with stiffness, rigidity, and what now is seen as cliché. Director Laura Standley means to give a new spin on the production. The play will feature a mix of traditional and contemporary traits. The majority of the cast will be dressed in Shakespearian garb while Romeo and Juliet’s costumes will elicit a more contemporary vibe, according to Standley. There will also be a push to give the lead characters more depth than their typical one-

dimensional characterizations. “I’m looking forward to taking the characters and making them more sophisticated and layered,” Cheverie said, “as well as getting a chance to work on a classic, but not in a cliché way.” Some of Standley’s other directorial endeavors at MCLA include María Irene Fornés’ “Mud” and “The Succesful Life of 3,” David Ives’ “The Liar,” and Tony Krushner’s “Angels in America.” “Personally, I’m blown away by the opportunity to play Romeo for a director who is bringing the play out of the classical view, making it for a more modern audience,” Neverson said. “It’s been about two years since we’ve done a show with an ensemble this large,” Neverson continued. “It’s great for the future of the program to have so many people.” “Romeo and Juliet” will be performed in Venable Theatre Nov. 18-21 at 8 p.m. with a 2 p.m. matinee on Nov. 21. Tickets are $2 for students, $5 for non-MCLA students/faculty, and $12 for general admission.

Photo from the Center for ServiceEnthusiastic MCLA students represent the college in last year’s parade. Many groups are looking for banner-holders this year.

Photos from the Center for ServiceThe Parade brings togethor people of all ages, from Sophomore Alex Switzer (above) to Sophomore Adazae Shephard (left) to children.

‘The Visit’ Underwhelms

as her finished product, and if one can suspend disbelief to allow for professional shooting/editing, it’s a style that serves the film well. Olivia DeLonge and Ed Oxenbould, who play Becca and Tyler, are the film’s saving grace. Their easy chemistry and humor (especially Tyler’s mannerisms and internet slang) keep the plot somewhat light, although the story is disturbing throughout. The Visit is billed as a horror-comedy, which can be a difficult tone for the writers and director to nail down. Parts of the movie are genuinely funny, while other parts are funny despite the best efforts of Shyamalan et al to make them spooky. On the whole, the filmmakers struck decent balance between humor and horror. Naturally, there’s a Shyamalan “big reveal” near the end, but it’s done with a good degree of subtlety. Despite occurring during a fairly innocuous scene, it’s probably the most frightening part of the movie.

Moments like these are few and far between, but they serve to demonstrate the possibility of Shyamalan someday making a decent film. Sadly, the gimmicks get old long before the movie ends. The grandparents are frustratingly

obvious, as if they were in on the secret that it’s a horror film. Their aloof explanations of each other’s strange behavior are insultingly unsubtle. The real problem isn’t their flawed performances, though: it’s the fact that Shyamalan thought the “insane old person” horror movie villain was an acceptable crutch in 2015.

When will we eliminate from pop culture the false belief that someone elderly or with a mental illness is more dangerous than a young, neurotypical person? It’s a baffling oversight that viewers as young as 13 are still being exposed to this harmful idea in wide-release movies. All that aside, The Visit is a cheaply exploitative, though surprisingly entertaining, movie. Viewers going to see an M. Night Shyamalan movie aren’t expecting nuance or class, and they certainly won’t get it here, but they will get a fun and often hilarious horror film with two talented young leads. Just don’t see it if you’re visiting your grandparents any time soon.

‘Romeo and Juliet’ marries old and new

Photo by Jarred Clapp/The BeaconThe production features a large cast.

‘Signs’ director has another “shocking” twist

Thursday, October 1, 2015 Sports Beacon.MCLA.edu8Volleyball spikes Anna Maria

Photo by Tiearra HansonFreshman Beatrice Lechler provides service for MCLA during their game Tuesday against Anna Maria College.

By Jesse CollingsSports Editor

The Trailblazers have set a pro-gram record with 12 straight vic-tories and currently sit at 13-3 overall on the season with a con-ference record of 2-0.

MCLA defeated Anna Maria College on Tuesday, defeating the Amcats 3-1 in North Adams. With the loss, Anna Maria slipped under .500 and now have a record of 7-8 on the season.

The Trailblazers dropped the first set to Anna Maria, losing a 21-14 lead and allowing the Am-cats to take a 1-0 lead. Anna Ma-ria was led by the strong play of middle-hitter Jessica Goulet, who led the Amcats with 11 kills on the day, as Anna Maria took the first set 25-23.

MCLA would recover to take the second set, 25-14 to knot the game at 1 set apiece.

The third set would prove to be the decisive one as MCLA would rally back from being down 22-19 to take the next six points to win the set 25-22. Sophomore Mag-gie Allen was huge in the final stretches of the third set, earning two blocks and a kill to lead the Trailblazers to a 2-1 lead.

The fourth and final set went down to the wire as MCLA before the Trailblazers pulled away in end and took the set 25-19. The Trailblazers were led by junior Allison Clark, who had 12 kills, bringing her MASCAC leading season total to 209. Clark is on pace to shatter the MCLA record for most kills in a single season,

set by Kayla Bromback, who had 258 kills in 2011. Junior Sam An-derson was huge on the defensive end for MCLA, coming up with five blocks on the night.

MCLA swept a home tri-match for the second Saturday in a row, defeating conference rival Mass. Maritime and Bay Path Univer-sity, each by the score of 3-0.

The Blazers picked up easy victories in all three sets dur-ing the first match of day against Mass. Maritime, taking them by the scores of 25-14, 25-15 and 25-9. The visiting Buccaneers fell to 1-9 on the season and 0-2 in MASCAC play. MCLA was led by Clark who had 14 kills and by se-nior Angelica Perfido who led all players with 17 digs.

MCLA didn’t have much trou-ble in the second game either, dis-posing of the Bay Path University Wildcats for the second time this season, taking all three sets by the scores of 25-17, 25-14 and 25-17. Clark again led the Blazers in kills with 12, while Chanielle Eno-moto recorded 19 digs and se-nior Courtney Parent had 13 digs combined with freshman Beatrice Lechler for 18 assists.

The Blazers have not only won 11 games in a row; nine of those 11 victories have been sweeps by the score of 3-0. Head coach Amanda Beckwith talked about the benefits of winning games in three sets.

“It is a long season. We have had some stretches where we are playing seven games in seven days, so winning games in three sets has been important to us be-

cause it reduces wear and tear and there is less opportunity for inju-ries,” Beckwith said.

Beckwith also stressed the im-portance of having a team with a lot of depth.

“We have been able to play a lot of our bench and win easily,” Beckwith said. “We can go to our bench players at any time dur-ing a game and I have complete confidence that they can get the job done. We have had a lot of competition in practice. Angelica [Perfido] is a senior, but she knew she had to come out and win her spot on the team.”

Although the team is now just 3 wins away from tying the pro-gram record for most wins in a season, the success does not come as a surprise for Beckwith.

“This team committed to win-ning a championship last spring. There has been an increased focus by everybody, working harder in practice and in the fitness room with Coach [Deb] Raber. We are a veteran team and we know what our goal is.”

The Trailblazers will face a tough challenge this weekend as they will play four matches over a 24 hour span on Friday and Sat-urday. against top competition when they visit Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY. MCLA will face Elmira College (7-4) and Naza-reth College (10-6) on Friday and Hartwick College (4-13) and Morrisville State (7-10) on Satur-day.

MCLA will then prepare for a huge conference game against Framingham State on Oct. 13.

Trailblazers crush Anna Maria at home, sweep weekend trimatch to post 3-0 record over last week and extend win

streak to 12

Men’s soccer picks up first two wins of the season

By Tyler BaconSports Writer

The MCLA Men’s Soccer team fought back from an early deficit to defeat Elms College on Tuesday. The win pushed the Trailblazers record to 2-4-2 on the season.

Elms got on the board early scoring in the 4th minute of the game, putting the Trailblazers into an early hole. The Trailblazers answered back in the 10th minute when junior Dylan Pereira knocked in a cross from Edward Boateng to even the score.

The Trailblazers took the lead in the 26th minute when Anthony Basile knocked in the go-ahead goal from a Pereira pass. The Trailblazers went into halftime with a 2-1 lead.

MCLA did not look back and added two more goals in the second half to put the game away. In the 62nd minute, Kwadwo Kusi’s pass found Pereira to make it a 3-1 game. Pereira finished with two goals and one assist on

the day. Senior Sean Kenney joined

in on the action with a goal of his own in the 68th minute to secure the victory for the Trailblazers. The goal was scored when Christopher Shea took a free kick and sent the ball into the box where it found the head of Kenney. He knocked it passed the Elms goalkeeper for the fourth and final goal.

The Trailblazers have scored seven goals in the last two games. They only scored five goals in the first six games of the season.

When asked if the offense has done anything differently in the last two games, Pereira said, “Nothing really changed. The things that we’ve been working towards is finally coming together and it’s all paying off. Hopefully we keep this run of form going in practice and it’ll keep paying off in the games.”

The Trailblazers secured their first win of the season when they beat Salem State on Saturday by

a score of 3-1. They evened their conference record at 1-1 with the win.

Basile was the source of offense scoring a hat trick. His first goal was only a minute into the game when he scored off of a pass from Boateng to make it 1-0. Basile added his second goal of the day in the 20th minute, making it 2-0.

Salem State finally got on the board six seconds before halftime when Eseosa Okunmwendia knocked a goal passed MCLA keeper Kamron Anderson to make it 2-1. Basile provided an insurance goal in the 66th minute to complete the hat trick. The goal was assisted by Pereira.

Basile’s three goals were enough to earn him MASCAC player of the week honors, and his 7 goals on the season are the most in the conference.

The Trailblazers look to continue their goal scoring and push their win streak to three when they play Westfield State on Saturday.

Women’s soccer beaten at home

By Jesse CollingsSports Editor

The Women’s soccer team is still looking for their first conference victory of the season, as they were trumped by the Salem State Vi-kings at home on Saturday, falling 2-0. The Trailblazers are now 1-7 on the season and 0-2 in MAS-CAC competition, while Salem State earned their first conference win of the season and now have an overall record of 2-6 and are 1-1 in conference play.

The two teams came into the game with identical 1-6 records and during the first half it was clear that the two squads were evenly matched. The Vikings out-shot the Trailblazers 11-3 in the first half, but junior goalkeeper Kathryn Daly made five saves and the teams were tied at zero.

The score remained tied for most of the second half as both team’s defenses tightened and the game became very physical. Play

was stopped for several minutes half-way through the second half when Salem State defender Ta-lia Frazier suffered a separated shoulder, and MCLA’s Marisa Sprague suffered an ankle injury.

Salem State got on the board in the 73rd minute when freshman forward Ashley Leboeuf put a curving shot on goal from about 10 yards outside the box. Daly was able to get a glove on the ball but was unable to keep it out of the net, as it ricocheted off of her hand and found its way into the back right corner.

Leboeuf would find the net again just seven minutes later on another goal that came from out-side the box.

Salem State held offensive ad-vantages across the board, out-shooting MCLA 21-6 and earn-ing 6 corner kicks to MCLA’s 1.

MCLA will get a chance to earn their first conference win this sea-son on Saturday when they travel to Westfield State.

Thursday, October 1, 2015 Sports Beacon.MCLA.edu 9ScoresMen’s Soccer

Saturday, Sep. 26MCLA @ Salem State3-1, W

Tuesday, Sep. 29MCLA @ Elms College4-1, W

Women’s Soccer

Saturday, Sep. 26MCLA vs Salem State2-0, L

Women’s Tennis

Saturday, Sep. 26MCLA vs Johnson State6-3, L

Tuesday, Sep. 29MCLA @ Anna MariaPPD

Golf

Sunday, Sep. 27MCLA @ Elms Invitational18th

Volleyball

Saturday, Sep. 26MCLA vs Mass. Maritime3-0, W

MCLA vs Bay Path3-0, W

Tuesday, Sept. 29MCLA vs Anna Maria3-1, W

SchedulesFriday, October 2

VolleyballMCLA vs Elmira@ Hartwick4 p.m.

MCLA vs Nazareth@ Hartwick8 p.m.

Saturday, October 3

VolleyballMCLA @ Hartwick10 a.m.

MCLA vs Morrisville State@ Hartwick2 p.m.

Women’s SoccerMCLA @ West� eld State11 a.m.

Men’s SoccerMCLA vs West� eld State1 p.m.

Women’s TennisMCLA @ omas College1 p.m.

Cross CountryMCLA @ Keene StateWomen Start: 11 a.m.Men Start: 11:45 a.m.

By Jesse CollingsSports Editor

A� er a big week where the strong got stronger and the weak got weaker, my power rankings return to assess the league’s hierarchy.

1. New England Patriots-A few teams have a strong case for the number one spot, but it would be hard to have New England drop a� er beating a team by 34 points.

2. Green Bay Packers-Green Bay gets the nod over Arizona due to a better quality of opponents, Green Bay looks like the class of the NFC.

3. Arizona Cardinals-Arizona holds the best point di� erential in all of football, but have also played Jimmy Clausen and Colin Kaepernick over the last two weeks.

4. Cincinnati Bengals-Doubt also seems to follow Marvin Lewis’ team, but Cincy has reeled o� three straight wins to start the season against decent competition.

5. Denver Broncos-Peyton Manning showed greater signs of life in the their victory over Detroit and Denver might have the very best defense in all of football.

6. Atlanta Falcons-It hasn’t always been convincing, but rookie head coach Dan

Quinn is o� to a 3-0 start for Atlanta and Julio Jones is o� to a historically great star for the dirty beers.

7. Carolina Panthers- Probably the least impressive of all the 3-0 teams, having beaten Houston, Jacksonville and a rapidly imploding New Orleans team.

8. Seattle Seahawks-Seattle earned their � rst victory of the season and while shutting out a Jimmy Clausen led Chicago team isn’t the most impressive feat, Seattle got a necessary victory under the belt.

9. Bu� alo Bills-Bu� alo dominated a dissappointing Miami team to go along with their solid victory over Indianapolis. Losing to New England isn’t that shameful and Rex Ryan clearly has his team motivated to make the playo� s for the � rst time this century.

10. Minnesota Vikings-A� er a puzzling loss at San Francisco to open the season, Minnesotas defense has looked dominant over the last two weeks against Detroit and San Diego, Minnesota looks to be a prime contender for a wild card spot in the NFC. Getting Adrian Peterson back to full strength and running over defenses is a great sign for the Vikings.

11. Pittsburgh Steelers-Probably a top � ve team in football when healthy, but right as Pittsburgh began to get their o� ensive pieces back, Ben Roethlisberger goes down with an injury. Mike Vick will be less-than inspiring at quarterback, but Pittsburgh still has enough o� ensive � re power to put up points.

12. Oakland Raiders-Nobody expected Oakland to get o� to such a good start, and they are not only 2-1 but have looked pretty good in those two victories. Second year quarterback Derek Carr has completed 63 percent of his passes so far this seaosn and is averaging 8.1 yards per attempt, both huge improvements over last season.

Fair Territory

NFLPower Rankings

Golf competes in Elms Invitiational MCLA competed against 20 other teams at the Elms College Invitational over the weekend, � nishing the tournament in 19th place. Sophomore Nick Young once again led the Trailblazers, shooting an 82 on the � rst day of the tournament and a 79 on the second day for a cumalitive score of 161, good enough for 42nd overall in the tournament. Freshman Cooper Gavin and sophomore Sam Slocombe � nished second and third for the Trailblazers. Senior James Clark shot a 111 on the � rst day by shaved nearly 20 points o�

of his score during the second day, shooting a 93 and coming in fourth for MCLA. Occidental College of Los Angeles claimed � rst place in the tournament, as teammates Colton Bares and Will Mans� eld tied for the low medalist with a cumalitive score of 146. Salem State, Trinity College, Babson College and Worcester State rounded out the top � ve. MCLA comepeted on Wednesday in the West� eld State Invitational, and are o� until next weekend when they compete in the North Atlantic Conference Championships.

By Jesse CollingsSports Editor

e Women’s tennis team fell to NAC rival Johnson State at home on Saturday, losing to the Bad-gers, 6-3. With the loss, MCLA is now 5-4 overall with a record of 2-2 in conference play. Johnson won their 4th straight match and is now 5-5 overall and 3-2 in the NAC.

e Trailblazer’s top duo of sophomores Emily Deaso and Mariza Sfakianaki took the point in number one doubles play, de-feating the Johnson pair of An-nette Kaminski and Katherina VonWoerkom, 8-6. e Badgers were able to rally back and take the next two doubles matches. Nicole Monick and Jana Somero defeated MCLA freshman Taylor Turner and junior Shelby Gauth-ier , 8-3 and the team of Kali Covell and Ashley Fogg defeated the Trailblazer pair of juniors Rebecca Waterhouse and Anna Despart, 8-6.

Deaso would earn another point for the Trailblazers in num-ber one singles play, thoroughly defeating Kaminski, 6-4, 6-1. Sfakianaki earned the other point for MCLA, defeating Covell in a tight three set game, taking it 6-7, 6-3, 10-3.

MCLA is currently � � h in the NAC and will need to � nish in at least fourth place to qualify for the playo� s. e Trailblazers had a non-conference game against Anna Maria postponed due to

rain and played NAC powerhouse Colby-Sawyer on Wednesday.

e Trailblazers will wrap up conference play this weekend with two huge games. MCLA will travel to omas College at 1 p.m. ey will play Husson College on Sunday at Husson. Husson is one of the team’s ahead of the Trailblazers and MCLA will be in a good position to make the play-o� s if they defeat the Eagles, who are 4-1 in NAC play.

Deaso stressed that practice and focus were going to be key factors in these make or break games.

“I believe that it is extremely important for us to be as prepared as we can be as a team,” Deaso said. “We need to focus in on cer-tain skills and try di� erent tactics to play our best and beat these two teams.”

Senior Kylie Dumas agreed, saying that remaining mentally resilient is critical for the team’s success.

“Preparation is huge for any match but with major conference matches it’s just that much more of a component to our success. Physical preparedness is impor-tant but I think we need to focus on speci� cally our mental readi-ness,” Dumas said. “I’ve been told Husson is very good. I think that intimidates us from the start and we ultimately let our preconceived notions run the match. If the en-tire team can prepare themselves both mentally and physically any-thing can happen. ey’re good teams but so are we.”

Tennis drops key home game

Photo from MCLA AthleticsSophomore Emily Deaso winds up to return a shot for MCLA.

Thursday, October 1, 2015 Opinion Beacon.MCLA.edu10� e Beacon

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Sports Editor Jesse Collings

A&E EditorMitchell Chapman

Copy Chief Brittany GallacherPhotography Editor

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Managing Editor

Harmony Birch

Editorial Board

Sta� Writers

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What are your thoughts on the increasing use of solar panels?

“I think it’s a great idea because it’s bene cial to everyone.” -Alayna Lucaroni, 2018

“It’s great for the environ-ment and the economy.” -Aleah Sangiovanni, 2018

“It seems like a good alterna-tive to other sources of energy.” Nikki Logiudice, 2017

“I think it’s a great way to save money and I think I will help out the environment a lot.” -Alyssa Dame, 2016

“I haven’t looked much into it but I feel that it would be good for the environment.”-Stephanie Jimenez, 2017

Photos compiled by Jay Tocco

Health & FitnessBigger than

bicepsSpiritual healing and the

seven chakras

By Makayla-Courtney McGeeney

Co-Editor in Chief Everyone has their own beliefs.

Some believe in God, and some don’t, and some believe in eating a whole pint of Ben & Jerry’s in one night, and some don’t. Some like to hold pretty rocks in their hands while thinking about nothing, and some think it’s crazy. I’m here to introduce you to a spiritual healing method through meditation and balancing your chakras. No, this won’t give you muscles or make you lose weight by tomorrow, but it’s an alternative to cleansing your body a� er a crazy weekend or messy week. Chakra is a Sanskrit word

which means wheel, and it is a spinning vortex that whirls in a circular motion forming a vacuum in the center that draws in anything it encounters on its particular vibratory level, according to chakraenergy.com. � e various chakras our body holds operate our being. If you’ve ever heard anyone said ‘good vibes,’ it’s because our chakras vibrate energy, which governs an organ or gland. � e energy could be considered good or bad, and you can meditate with a speci c crystal to rebalance the bad

energy that chakra is vibrating. � e seven main

chakra centers connect our being on di� erent levels, including physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. A color vibrational frequency is connected to each chakra, which is connected to every organ, gland and body system. � e heart chakra (green color) governs the thymus gland and also functions as the heart organ, lungs, bronchial system, lymph glands, secondary circulatory system, immune system, and the arms and hands. � ese chakras

are aligned along the spinal column: the crown of the head is violet and controls the pineal gland, the brow is indigo and controls pituitary, the throat is blue and controls the thyroid gland, the heart is green and controls the thymus gland, the solar plexus (above belly button) is yellow and controls the pancreas gland, the spleen is orange and controls the gonads, and the root (tailbone) is red and controls the adrenal gland. When one chakra is out of sync, it may a� ect its other parts or neighboring chakras. When this happens, it means that the chakra center is overactive or underactive, congested or blocked and can be felt on a mental, emotional or physical level. � ere’s a lot more behind

this science, and I was introduced to it a� er meditating in yoga classes. Sure, you can meditate without knowing about chakras and crystals, but it’s an additive. I know some people like to have a corner of their bedroom, or a shelf to display their healing tools on, such as Buddha gures, crystals, incense, candles, etc. You can meditate on a noisy street (for a challenge) or in a sacred place surrounded by the tools. If all of this isn’t gibberish,

then kudos to you. Take care of yourself mentally, emotionally

and physically by exercising frequently, eating fresh foods and checking in with your chakras to remain balanced.

IZZY HELTAI

ADAY WITHOUT

LOVE

HEART OF GOLD

WYNDWOOD

CHRISTOPHERHANTMAN

The Parlor

Cafe

303 Ashland St.

Oct. 3rd 7PM FREE!

Thursday, October 1, 2015 Announcements, Events, & Opinion Beacon.MCLA.edu 11Check it Out!

Upcoming events on campus

� ursday, Oct. 1Zombie Textbooks MassPIRG EventAcademic Quad3- 5:30 p.m.

Je� Speck Q &AMurdock Hall4:30-5:30 p.m.

Je� Speck presents “Walkable City”Church Street Auditorium7 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 2Her Campus Launch Party7-10 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 3Saturday Night Spot Light Flapjacks and LumberjacksVenable Gym8 p.m.

Fall Dog ParadeVeterans Memorial Park10 a.m.

Sunday, Oct. 4Fall Foliage ParadeDowntown North Adams1 p.m.

Upcoming events on campus

Keep us updated on club events! We want to cover you!

Email your press release and

information on O� ce 365

to beacon@mcla.edu20%

The

PubYard

Freight

FOR A Burger, ApPEtizer,

or entree

3 Furnace StreetNorth Adams, MA

(413) 662-6547

Offer Valid Until 12/31/2015, Limit One Per Customer

Off

Coupon

“Berkshire's BestBurger”

Financial Aid AnnouncementsRefunds will be occurring soon!!

Check with the fi nancial aid offi ce and student accounts in Eldridge Hall to make sure your

requirements are complete!!Interested in studying abroad for a semester or going

on the national student exchange within the USA?Start the process in Career Services in CSSE today!

Financial aid may help you pay for it!Register on fastweb.com for a free scholarship search.

MASSPIRG to host Zombie Textbooks

M-W: 7:30am - 10:00pmTh&F: 7:30am - 11:30pmSat: 9:30am - 11:30pm

Gift Certificates & Discount Programs Available

www.TheParlorCafe.comfb.com/TheParlorCafe

(413) 346-4279

Dine-In and Take-Out menu online.

NO CARD MINIMUMS

MCLA LECTURE SERIES

JEFF SPECK

MASSACHUSETTS COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS 375 Church Street, North Adams, MA 413 662 5391 MCLA.EDU

THURSDAY OCTOBER 1 7:00 PMCHURCH STREET CENTER

Jeff Speck is a city planner who advocates internationally for more walkable cities. His latest book, Walkable City, was the best-selling city-planning book of 2013-14. Per information released by the author, Jeff Speck has dedicated his career to determining what makes cities thrive. And he has boiled it down to one key factor: walkability.

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.Seating is limited.Made possible through the generosity of the Ruth Proud Charitable Trust.

City Planner and Author of “Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time”

How long can you survive against the Zombie Textbooks? Enter the arena in the Quad today from 3:30-5:30pm to nd out! Prizes will awarded for the best times!Textbook prices are so high, it’s scary. Textbooks have

increased in cost at 3x the rate of in� ation, and � e College Board now recommends that students budget $1200 per year in books and supplies!� at’s why MASSPIRG is advocating for open textbooks,

which are free to download, free to share, and cheap to print!So come show your support for cheaper textbooks today

and see how long you can last against the hoard!

Thursday, October 1, 2015 Photo Essay Beacon.MCLA.edu12

Junior Isaac Wood sells printed bags at Makers’ Mill - a makerspace in North Adams that encourages members of the community to get together, be creative, and support print making and fiber arts.

Bridgman | Packer Dance’s Truck. The dance is performed in the space of a 17-foot box, combining creative movement with video.

Izzy Heltai performs folk music outside the Mohawk Theatre.

Dee Davis and Hannah Houston enjoying the performance of Truck.

Art on display in the Common Folk Arist Collective Gallery.

DownStreet Art

Photos by Isabel McKenzie